Timothy Lee Benjamin Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Those who knew Tim Benjamin knew what it was to have a face light up and a body lean in when you approached. Tim took delight in meeting new people and in holding close the ones he'd known throughout life. After his spinal cord injury at the age of 21 in a diving accident in 1974, he'd been told to expect a short life. But he went on for another 48 years to ride right past the obstacles life presented and focus on the people he loved and the work he had to do. Tim, a fifth-generation Minnesotan, was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis on April 22, 1953, to Fred Alton Benjamin III and Phyllis Ann Laughlin. When he was a very young boy, the family moved from New Brighton to Phoenix, Arizona, where Tim later went to school at St. Thomas the Apostle and Camelback High before returning to Minnesota in the early 1970s. He was a self-described "motorhead," who loved his muscle cars and Harleys, and worked as a machinist before "retiring" as a quadriplegic. Tim took up computers in the 1980s when early dictation software allowed him to work on them independently, and in the 1990s he attended Metropolitan State University, studying philosophy and writing, after the ADA brought true accessibility to higher education. But his real calling was to disability advocacy. In 2000, Tim's friend Charlie Smith, who had been in SCI rehab with him, asked him to work at the newspaper he had started 10 years earlier. A year later, when Charlie learned he would soon be overtaken by cancer, he asked Tim to assume leadership of Access Press. For the next 19 years, Tim served as executive director and editor of Minnesota's disability community newspaper. Since retirement, he served the paper as consultant and occasional columnist. His latest of nearly 250 columns was published in July 2022. He has been recognized by his colleagues and friends in the disability community as a leader, by state legislators as a tireless advocate, and by all who knew him as a quiet but powerful man of ardent convictions. Tim died at Regions Hospital on July 11, 2022 after working incredibly hard to recover from several traumatic medical incidents since 2019. He is survived by his wife Lynda Milne, "the love of my life," with whom he shared life for the last 26 years after an email exchange recalling their high-school fondness back in Phoenix in 1969. Tim also leaves behind his precious siblings, Cynthia (James) Musselman of Goodyear, Arizona; Fred "Chip" (Vicki) of Humboldt, Tennessee; Leo "Rick" of Glendale, Arizona, and Kelli (Tag) Krogseng of Camp Verde, Arizona; as well as many, many nieces, nephews, and greats. He was predeceased by his parents. His life will be celebrated by a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, July 26, 11 AM at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, 1500 Franklin Ave SE, Minneapolis. Visitation 1 hour prior to Mass at church, and also Monday, July 25, with a visitation 6-7 PM and Rosary at 7 PM at Washburn-McReavy Hillside Chapel, 612-781-1999 2610 19th Ave NE. Minneapolis. The Rosary will be led by Tim's devoted cousin, Rev. Fr. George Welzbacher. Friends, colleagues, and ALL of Tim's valued and beloved caregivers of the last 48 years are invited to a celebratory luncheon on July 26, 1-5 PM to remember Tim in the way he wanted: with talk, music and fun. Long Lake Regional Park Pavilion, 1500 Old Highway 8, New Brighton. Memorials preferred to Access Press and Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance.

Tributes

Timothy Lee Benjamin

April 22, 1953 - July 11, 2022

Tributes

Timothy Lee Benjamin

April 22, 1953 - July 11, 2022

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